Church of Armentine the Great/Gospel of the Pers/Salus
Chapter 1 1:1 I am Eoi, son of Gorgantine, and brother of Aj, Bea, and Bjao, of the seventh generation of man. 1:2 And, lo, I have been selected as the fifth writer of this, the Book, and have made it mine. 1:3 In my beginning, which was not the beginning, I did not believe in the Almighty as I was meant to, but considered him wrong and hypocritical, until I read these words, and the truth written thereof. 1:4 And so in the thirteenth year of my life I disposed of my earthly name, Eoi, which was selected by my mother for one of the dreadful Dreshii she worshipped, and took instead the name Beli, after the first man to be born of man. 1:5 And when I took the name Beli, I spoke with my uncle, Ileb, who was near the end of his life and was the reincarnation of Beli, and with his dying breath, with all his holy memories returned to him, he prophesized that I was to be the historian of man, even as others were the historians of the Almighty. 1:6 So it has been my duty to record here the days of man, and so I shall do. 1:7 For even in this day there are men who do not believe in the One, or worship him, but they are few, and I shall not trouble ye with stories of their cursed souls. 1:8 Rather, let me tell you of the establishment of a government of man. 1:9 At the time of this writing, the population of the earth is six-hundred and eighty three, and is divided into two tribes, each of over three-hundred citizens. 1:10 '''And the tribes each follow a different deity, and have accordingly established their way of life around them, and have all lived as they see religiously fit, not following one set of established rules. '''1:11 It was at one point decided that we shall all follow ourselves under one earthly ruler, and would call him a King. 1:12 And the first king was my cousin, Loegsa, son of Sirius and Ala, and Ala was my mother's mother through her first husband, Yugi, and Sirius was grandson of my great-great-grandfather, Naillimxam. 1:13 Hence I am cousin of Loegsa the First the King, ashamed of it as I may be, for he is a bad king, and has publicly disgraced the Almighty, and cursed his name. 1:14 Yet the One has taken his accusations without revealing Itself or taking action, for it is not as it was in the days of Per Marilyn, when Armentine came from the sky to destroy the Grand Temple, and the Creator now wishes man to find his own way to salvation. 1:15 And so, if the Almighty shall not vanquish this blasphemer, then I must. It is my duty, and it shall be done. Chapter 2 2:1 And on the third day of the seventh month of my twenty-second year, I set off from my home in Armentine Village, to the land of Ther, where Loegsa dwells. 2:2 On my back I brought nothing but the clothes I was wearing, for I knew that the One looks fondly upon those who go without in his honor, so that others may go with. 2:3 It was with aching feet I walked the land, and I passed through many villages, and the people thereof offered me food, and water, for they were just, yet I refused. 2:4 And on the third day of my journey I found a man with whom I had quarreled years earlier, and I saw he was unrighteous still, and was staggering in drunken stupor. 2:5 So from the ground of the earth I drew a sharp stone, and I leapt forward, and with it I slew him, and he lay dead upon the ground. 2:6 I did not know that on a nearby road the King was riding in the summer heat, and as he passed I beheld the sky turn dark colors like sackcloth, and lightning and rain fell from their depths. 2:7 As I stood over the corpse of my offender, a cloud opened in the sky, and Armentine, in all the glories of the Void, came down on a beam of light, and spoke to me. 2:8 “Beli!” It shouted, so that the King on his mule trembled, watching the god he had disgraced shout the name of his relative, “Thou hast sinned against me by shedding the blood of this man!” 2:9 So I dropped to my knees, and I prayed unto Dierich with all of the might within me, that he might put an end to my suffering; yet the Herbonii would not listen. 2:10 “Ye shall not find solace in my companion!” said the One, staring at me with anger most fearful. “I am the only Being with the power to forgive ye, and I shall not do so unless you giveth Me the reason why ye hast done this.” 2:11 “My Creator,” pleaded I, “this man hath crossed me, and I was only seeking repayment!” 2:12 I watched as the Almighty looked, and finally It spoke in a rumbling voice, “An eye for an eye is how it shall be.” 2:13 “And so I am forgiven?” asked I, but the One said “Nay. Death for a quarrel is not even. Thou art not forgiven.” 2:14 '''So I was dismayed, for if the Almighty had forbidden my salvation, even Dierich would not present it unto me. I was doomed. '''2:15 Yet the Almighty saw these thoughts and spoke, “Ye are most surely not doomed. I shall show you the way to salvation for such a sin, but first you must show Me that you are surely remorseful.” 2:16 I showed It that I was, and It presented me with a prayer, called Armentine’s prayer, that all remorseful killers may sing unto It, and be forgiven, and I write this prayer here: 2:17 “Our Creator who art in the Void,” “Blessed be thy acts.” “Thy word come.” “Thy will be done, as in your lands, so in ours.” “Give us day by day our daily needs.” “And forgive us our sins, as Dierich does.” “And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.” ”Borogroves. Brandersnatch. Mome.” “It is your will,” “So be it.” 2:18 And I was forgiven, so easily, for our Creator is a merciful One, and when I sang of my happiness at my salvation aloud Armentine gave me the title of Per, then responded in words. 2:19 “Ye are not the only one who has been saved,” said It, pointing to where the King Loegsa had been riding, and I looked, and beheld that he had prayed, and been forgiven. 2:20 And the One then said to me, “See this, see it very well. You wished to kill your kin, but found only hatred. I showed compassion, and he saw it, and was forgiven. Love is more effective than hate.” Chapter 3 3:1 I write several years later to record the death of my brother, Per Bjao, whom I dearly miss, and whose death shall give unto us an important message. 3:2 Most Righteous Bjao had been walking along the trail leading from our hometown, when he came to a cliff overlooking a mysterious land. 3:3 When he bent to get a closer view of the land, he fell, able to hold onto the mountainside with just one hand. He was scared, but confident that the Almighty would save him, for he had been a faithful worshipper. 3:4 Twice men came and offered to help, but both were refused. 3:5 The first was a man of dark skin, who came from Ther, and he was a merchant, dressed in such garb. 3:6 “Shall I help you?” asked Merchant Buer. 3:7 “Ye shall not; the One will.” replied Bjao, so Buer left. 3:8 Second came a man of noble heritage, named Nujo, and he was dressed in holy manner. 3:9 “Shall I help you?” asked Prince Nujo. 3:10 “Ye shall not; the One will.” replied Bjao, so Nujo also left. 3:11 Time passed, and Bjao said a prayer for Armentine to save him from his death, and immediately afterwards he fell onto the rocks below, and was dead. 3:12 When I fasted and prayed on why my brother, who had asked for Almighty’s help, had died, the Almighty appeared to me, and spoke, and It told me that It had sent two men to help Bjao. 3:13 We must not ask of heaven what earth can provide. Category:Church of Armentine the Great